The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty

By Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely, behavioral economist and the New York Times bestselling author of The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational, examines the contradictory forces that drive us to cheat and keep us honest, in this groundbreaking look at the way we behave: The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty.

From ticket-fixing in our police departments to test-score scandals in our schools, from our elected leaders’ extra-marital affairs to the Ponzi schemes undermining our economy, cheating and dishonesty are ubiquitous parts of our national news cycle—and inescapable parts of the human condition.

Drawing on original experiments and research, in the vein of Freakonomics, The Tipping Point, and Survival of the Sickest, Ariely reveals—honestly—what motivates these irrational, but entirely human, behaviors.

“I was shocked at how prevalent mild cheating was and how much more harmful it can be, cumulatively, compared to outright fraud. This is Dan Ariely’s most interesting and most useful book.” NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB | Author of Black Swan

“You’ll laugh with surprise (and recognition) at Ariely’s research findings on self-knowledge. If you believe as Plato taught that ’the essence of knowledge is self-knowledge,’ this book is the essence of knowledge.” SCOTT COOK | Founder of Intuit Inc.